Closure latch



April 3, 1965 J. D. LESLIE 3,178,212

CLOSURE LATCH Filed 001:. 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l a? I z -INVENTOR.$7, 1 f davesfl&9e

ATTORNEY April 1965 J. D. LESLIE 3,178,212

CLOSURE LATCH Filed Oct. 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR.

ATTORNEY I I; I

United States PatentO "ice 3,178,212 CLOSURE LATCH games D. Leslie,Birmingham, Mich, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich,a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 232,821 Ciaims.(Cl. 292-280) This invention relates to closure latches and moreparticularly to vehicle body door latch assemblies.

One feature of this invention is that it provides a door latch assemblyincluding a rotary bolt located inside the door. Another feature of thisinvention is that it provides a door latch assembly including a rotarybolt located inside the vehicle door and engageable with a strikerassembly projecting into the door to hold the door in closed position. Afurther feature of this invention is that it provides a door latchassembly wherein the majority of the parts of the assembly are mountedwithin an enclosed housing of minimum depth. Yet, another feature ofthis invention is that it provides a door latch assembly including arotary toothed bolt mounted inside the door adjacent the jamb facethereof and engageable with a toothed striker bar projecting inside thedoor through an opening in the door inner panel. Yet, a further featureof this invention is that it provides a door latch assembly including arotary gear type bolt engageable with a toothed striker, and a generallyU-chaped spring located in the plane of the bolt for engagement with thestriker to urge the striker into engagement with the bolt. Still anotherfeature of this invention is that it provides an improved door latchassembly having the features of keyless locking and automatic undogging.

These and other features and advantages of the closure latch of thisinvention will be readily apparent from the following specification anddrawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial side elevational view of a vehicle body embodyinga closure latch according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partially broken away sectional view takengenerally along the plane indicated by line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 33of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 4-4of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a View similar to FIGURE 3 showing the closure latch inunlatched position;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing the latch in lockedposition, and

FIGURE 7 is a view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 77of FIGURE 3.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a vehicle body10 includes a front door 12 mounted on the body by suitable hinge means,not shown, adjacent its forward edge 14 for swinging movement between aclosed position, as shown, and an open position, not shown.

I Door 12 is held in its closed position by a closure latch 16,

according to this invention, which includes latching means .mountedwithin door 12 adjacent the rear free swinging edge portion thereof andengageable with striker means mounted on a body pillar 18.

As shown in FIGURE 2, door 12 includes a door outer panel 2! and a doorinner panel 22 which are located in spaced relationship and connectedadjacent their rear edge portions by a rear door wall or jamb face 24formed integral with panel 22 and hem flanged to panel 28. Thelatchingmeans includes a latch frame 26 which abuts wall 24 and issecured thereto by bolts 28 extending through wall 24 into tappedembossments of the frame. Frame 26 includes anyinner, discontinuousflange extension 30 which abuts the inner panel 22 of door 12 and anouter discon- 3,173,212 Patented Apr. 13, .1965

tinuous flange extension 32 which lies in spaced relationship to theouter panel 2%) and merges into a partial lower flange extension 34. Theinner panel 22 and flange 30 are provided with aligned apertures 36,with the material from the aperture 36 of flange 30 being bent inwardlyof the flange, as shown in FIGURES 3, 5 and 6, to provide a striker barguiding flange 38 for a purpose to be described. A cover plate 40 liesin closely spaced parallel relationship to the frame 26, being securedthereto in a manner to be described, and cooperates with the frame 26 inproviding a housing for the majority of parts of the latching means.

A shouldered pin 42 is journaled within wall 24 and frame 26 and withinthe cover plate 40 and rotatably mounts a rotary gear type latch bolt44. A detent member 46 is pivoted at 48 to the frame 26 and includes afoot 50 adapted to engage an adjacent pair of teeth of the bolt 44, asshown in FIGURES 3 and 6, to hold the bolt against counterclockwisemovement and thereby retain the door in closed position. A coil torsionspring 52 mounted on the pin 43 has one end thereof engaging an arcuatetab 54 of the detent and the other end thereof engaging the hooked innerend of flange 38 to bias the detent 46 in a counterclockwise directionand hold foot 50 in engagement with bolt 44.

An outside operating member or lever 56 has the lower bent end thereof,FIGURE 7, overlying plate 40 and pivoted on a pin 58 secured to theframe 26 and to plate 40. The upper end of lever 56 is formed into alateral tab structure 60 which is engageable by the push rod member 62of a conventional push button arrangement 64 mounted within an outsidehandle member 66 secured to the outer panel 26 of door 12. A coiltorsion spring 68 surrounds the pin 58 and has one end thereof engagingmember 56 and the other end thereof hooked over an opening in flange 32to continuously bias lever 56 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 3.An intermittent lever or member 70 has one end thereof pivoted at 72 tomember 56 and is provided with a lateral tab 74 adjacent the other endthereof which is received within a generally arcuately shaped slot 76ina locking lever 78 to pivotally and slidably couple these members. Thelocking lever 78 is pivoted at 80 on the cover plate 40 and is movablebetween an unlocked position, vas shown in FIGURE 3, and a lockedposition, as shown in FIGURE 6, with the locking lever being selectivelyand alternately held in either of these positions by an over center typecoil torsion spring 82 hooked between the locking lever and the coverplate 46. When the locking lever is in its unlocked position, as shownin FIGURE 3, it locates a shoulder 84 of the intermittent member 76adjacent a lateral tab 86 of the detent 46 and when the locking lever isin its locked position, as shownin FIGURE 6, it locates the shoulder 84of the (intermittent member below the tab 86.

When the locking lever is in its unlocked position, as

shown in FIGURE 3, operation of the push button assemwith the tab 86 ofthe detent 46 will swing the detent clockwise about its pivot 48 to itsposition, as shown in FIG- URE 5, wherein the foot 50 of the detent isout of engagement with the teeth of the bolt 44 so that the bolt mayfreely rotate. When the locking lever is in its locked position, asshown in FIGURE 6, shifting movement of the intermittent member 7 0 tothe right will cause the shoulder 84 of the intermittent member to passbelow the tab 86 so that the detent will remain in engagement withtheteeth of the bolt and prevent rotational movement of the bolt.

The locking lever 78 is moved between its locked and unlocked positionsfrom the interior of the body by a garnislimolding button as, FIGURE 1,connected thereto moved between its locked and unlocked positions fromthe exterior of the body by a conventional key cylinder assembly 92,FIGURES l, 2 and 4, having secured thereto a lever 96 which is coupledto the locking lever by a vertically shiftable rod 98.

The detent 46 may be operated from the interior of the body to move itout of engagement with the teeth of bolt 44 by an inside operatinghandle 1%, FIGURE 1, coupled to an inside release lever 102, FIGURE 4,by a rod 104. Lever 102 is pivoted at 106 on flange 30 of frame 26 andhas one leg thereof extending through an opening in plate 40 so as tooverlie the lateral tab 54 of the detent.

In order to hold the door in closed position, bolt 44 engages strikermeans 119. As best shown in FIGURE 2, the striker means includes agenerally U-shaped striker bar having one leg 112 thereof fitted againstthe pillar 18 and bolted thereto at 114. The other leg 116 of thestriker bar includes a plurality of upwardly extending teeth whichengage the teeth of the bolt 44 to retain the door in a closed position.The leg 116 of the striker bar projects inwardly of the door 12 throughthe apertures 36 in the flange 30 and panel 22, with movement of the leg116 within the door being guided by the flange 38 of flange 30 and alateral flange 118 of the plate 40 which is located in generallyparallel spaced relationship to the flange 38 to define a guide passagetherewith. A generally U-shaped flat spring .120 includes a lower legseating on the flange 34 and an upper leg of generally wavy constructionhaving the free end portion thereof seating under the flange 118 of thecover plate. One of the bends 122 of the upper leg of the spring engagesthe striker bar leg 116 to bias the striker bar into engagement with thebolt 44. It will be noted that the spring 120 lies generally in theplane of the bolt.

The leg 116 of the striker bar cooperates with the frame 26 and wall 24of the door in providing an interlock be tween the door and the body soas to prevent shifting movement of the door longitudinally of the bodyin the event of an accident or otherwise.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the closure latch of this invention includesthe features of keyless locking and automatic undogging which will nowbe described. Keyless locking is accomplished by first depressing thepush button 88 to shift the rod 90 downwardly and thereby swing thelocking lever 78 from its unlocked position, as shown in FIGURE 3, toits locked position, as shown in FIG- URE 6. Thereafter, the push buttonassembly 64 is depressed so as to shift the intermittent member 70 tothe right to its position, as shown in FIGURE 6, and the door is thenclosed. When the door is closed, the volt 44 will rotate as it engagesthe teeth of the striker bar leg 116, and the detent 46 will ratchetpast the teeth of the bolt. However, since a lateral tab 124 of theintermittent member is located to the right of and out of the path ofmovement of a shoulder 126 of .the detent, as shown in FIG- URE 5, thedetent will merely ratchet past the teeth of the bolt and the lockinglever will remain in its locked position. When the door is in a fullyclosed position and the push button assembly 64 is released, it can beseen that depression of the push button assembly 64 thereafter will haveno effect on the detent 46 since the intermittent member 70 will merelyshift past the detent, as previously described. Automatic undogging willoccur if the push button 83 is depressed to move the locking lever 78from its unlocked position of FIGURE 3 to its locked postion of FIGURE6, and the door 12 is thereafter closed without depressing the pushbutton assembly 64. As soon as the detent 46 ratchets past the firsttooth of the bolt 44, the shoulder 126 of the detent will engage the tab124 of the intermittent member to swing the intermittent membercounterclockwise about its pivot 72 on the lever 56 and thereby swingthe locking lever from its locked position of FIGURE 6 to its unlockedposition of FIGURE 3.

It will be noted from the foregoing description, that the closure latchof this invention is a very compact construction, and, that further, themajority of the parts of the latching means are housed within thehousing provided by the latch frame 26 and the cover plate 40, which issupported on the frame 26 by the pin 58 and another pin 128 staked tothe frame and cover plate. Further, the latching means, including thelatch bolt, are housed within the door 12 so that no portion of thelatching means projects outwardly of the door. The projection of thestriker bar Within the door 12 into engagement with the latch bolt notonly holds the door in a closed position, but also provides an interlockbetween the door and the body.

Thus, this invention provides a new and improved closure latch.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle body including a door having inner and outer panelsjoined at one side by a jamb wall, a closure latch comprising, a latchframe mounted in said door on the inner surface of said wall, a latchbolt movably mounted on said frame and located adjacent the innersurface of said frame, detent means adapted to engage said bolt to holdsaid bolt against movement in one direction, operating means for movingsaid detent means out of holding engagement with said bolt, and astriker member mounted on said body and including a first portionextending along the outer surface of said jamb wall and a second portionprojecting through an opening in said door inner panel and extendingalong the inner surface of said latch frame and into engagement withsaid bolt, said striker member portions straddling said jamb wall andlatch frame and cooperating therewith to provide an interlock.

2. In a vehicle body including a door having inner and outer panelsjoined at one side by a jamb wall, a closure latch comprising, a latchframe mounted in said door on the inner surface of said wall, a latchbolt movably mount on said frame and located adjacent the inner surfaceof said frame, detent means adapted to engage said bolt to hold saidbolt against movement in one direction, operating means for moving saiddetent means out of holding engagement with said bolt, a striker membermounted on said body and including a first portion extending along theouter surface of said jamb wall and a second portion projecting throughan opening in said door inner panel and extending along the innersurface of said latch frame and into engagement with said bolt, saidstriker member portions straddling said jamb wall and latch frame andcooperating therewith to provide an interlock, and resilient meansmounted on said latch frame and engaging said striker member secondportion to bias said striker member second portion into engagement withsaid bolt.

3. In a vehicle body including a door having inner and outer panelsjoined at one side by a jamb Wall, a closure latch comprising, a latchframe mounted in said door on the inner surface of said wall, a platemember located in spaced relationship to said frame and defining ahousing therewith, a latch bolt movably mounted on said frame and platemember and located within said housing, detent means adapted to engagesaid bolt to hold said bolt against movement in one direction, operatingmeans for moving said detent means out of holding engagement with saidbolt, and a striker member mounted on said body and including a firstportion extending along the outer surface of said jamb wall and a secondportion projecting through an opening in said door inner panel andextending into said housing and into engagement with said bolt, saidstriker member portions straddling said jamb wall and latch frame andcooperating therewith to provide an interlock.

4. In a vehicle body including a door having inner and outer panelsjoined at one side by a jamb wall, a closure latch comprising, a latchframe mounted in said door on the inner surface of said wall, a platemember located in spaced relationship to said frame and defining ahousing therewith, a latch bolt movably mounted on said frame and platemember and located Within said housing, detent means adapted to engagesaid bolt to hold said bolt against movement in one direction, operatingmeans for moving said detent means out of holding engagement with saidbolt, a striker member mounted on said body and including a firstportion extending along the outer surface of said jam'o Wall and asecond portion projecting through an opening in said door inner paneland extending into said housing and into engagement with said bolt, saidstriker member portions straddling said jamb wall and latch frame andcooperating therewith to provide an interlock, and means on said frameand plate member located on opposite sides of the opening in said doorinner panel and providing a guide passage for said striker member secondportion within said housing.

5. A closure latch as recited in claim 4 including resilient meansmounted within said housing within the plane of said bolt and strikermember second portion and 10- References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 875,747 1/08 Streng. 1,908,344 5/ 3 3 Haberstump.2,629,618 2/53 Roethel. 2,806,369 9/57 Chanaryn 292280 X FOREIGN PATENTS68,760 1/58 France.

M. HENSON WOOD, IR., Primary Examiner.

1. IN A VEHICLE BODY INCLUDING A DOOR HAVING INNER AND OUTER PANELSJOINED AT ONE SIDE BY A JAMB WALL, A CLOSURE LATCH COMPRISING, A LATCHFRAME MOUNTED IN SAID DOOR ON THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID WALL, A LATCHBOLT MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND LOCATED ADJACENT THE INNERSURFACE OF SAID FRAME, DETENT MEANS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID BOLT TO HOLDSAID BOLT AGAINST MOVEMENT IN ONE DIRECTION, OPERATING MEANS FOR MOVINGSAID DETENT MEANS OUT OF HOLDING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BOLT, AND ASTRIKER MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID BODY AND INCLUDING A FIRST PORTIONEXTENDING ALONG THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID JAMP WALL AND A SECOND PORTIONPROJECTING THROUGH AN OPENING IN SAID DOOR INNER PANEL AND EXTENDINGALONG THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID LATCH FRAME AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITHSAID BOLT, SAID STRIKER MEMBER PORTIONS STRADDLING SID JAMB WALL ANDLATCH FRAME AND COOPERATING THEREWITH TO PROVIDE AN INTERLOCK.